The Wedding Vow Reflection
by TerribleWaitress
Summary: A reflection of moments and memories leading up to and the events that come after "I do." Totally Lenny.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - Just little bits of fluff to share whilst I'm lying on the beach this week. Seven parts, all linked, but not all in order of time. They're based on wedding vows, little reflections on how they got to marriage based on a line from the vows. It's been sitting on my laptop for ages. Hope you all enjoy, there'll be one each day, so get those reviews in, make my vaca even better! :) **

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_"I, Penny, take you, Leonard, to be my lawfully wedded husband,"_

As she sat with Bernadette, watching her sign various documents for the house she was buying with Howard, Penny couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Bernadette got to sign it with Howard's last name. She'd even adjusted her signature to include 'Wolowitz' - and although it was a very long name, Bernadette seemed to be very happy with it. And they were buying a place together, moving forward with their lives.

Penny thought back to the day Leonard had told her that he wouldn't propose anymore; it had to be her. She didn't know if that was serious, but sitting there, watching Bernadette happily use her married name, she decided that was it. Leonard wanted it to be a surprise, the whole nine yards, and that's what he would get. As she sipped on her coffee, and Bernadette muttered something about how boring reading this paperwork was, Penny wondered if she had to get him a ring. Did women do that? She decided she would, it was a big part of getting engaged.

Engaged. Her heart sped up a little at that word, and a trickle of fear flowed through her. But she shook it off. It was scary, yes. It was a very big step. But she wanted to do this; she wanted to be able to sign her bills as 'Mrs. Penny Hofstadter' and see it on her paychecks. Maybe, if she ever got somewhere with her acting career, that would be the name in the credits. That's what people would write when they sent her mail. She was going to get a new email address, she was going to change her name on Facebook and Twitter and people would have to change her name in their contacts list on their phones. She wanted that. She wanted to see 'Dr. and Mrs. Hofstadter' written at the bottom of documents, with two sets of lines for each of them to sign.

Once she returned back to her apartment, she realized how much she had to plan. Though, on second thought, maybe she didn't. She knew what Leonard wanted. She knew she didn't want to wait for a special day, because she wanted this day to be special on it's own. Deciding that overthinking wasn't going to help, she set about making dinner. Leonard returned home just as she had finished cooking. She couldn't help but smile every time he spoke, unsuspecting of what was going through her mind at that moment.

After her breakfast shift at the Cheesecake Factory the next day, she went straight to the mall and headed over to her favorite jewelry store, locating a friendly looking salesman.

"Hi," She said, smiling. "Um, would you be able to help me?"

"Of course, ma'am." He smiled back at her, standing up. "How may I assist you?"

"Okay, here's the thing." She took a deep breath. "I'm going to propose to my boyfriend. And I know, that's backwards, but whatever. I don't know if when women propose they buy rings, but I want to get him a ring anyway."

Telling this man wasn't as daunting as she had expected. Perhaps it was because he didn't know her, which made it easier.

"That's sounds wonderful. I have had women buying rings - though I can't tell you whether or not it is common practice, considering I have only spoken to the ones who _have _bought a ring." He took out a key from his pocket. "If you follow me, I'll show you our selection of men's rings."

Penny followed him, grateful that he was friendly and had dealt with this before.

"Did you have anything in mind?" He asked, opening the back of the display cabinet.

"Umm..." Penny realized she hadn't really thought about it. "A silver one?"

Understanding, the salesman smiled and took out two trays of silver rings. Penny thought they all looked quite similar; while women often chose diamonds and other gemstones, men's were far simpler. She looked up at the salesman helplessly.

"How much are you willing to spend?"

Penny bit her lip. This wasn't something she'd thought about. She didn't exactly have much money, but she didn't want to get him a horrible ring. If it was Leonard, she knew he wouldn't care how much he had to spend, as long as the ring was perfect. "I don't care. As long as it's not horrendously too much, I don't mind. I want the ring to be perfect for him." She vowed to herself to stop shopping so much and try pick up a few more shifts so she had some money. Then it hit her. Her dad liked Leonard. Maybe he'd help her out with this. "Can you hold on just a second?"

The salesman nodded, and Penny stepped aside, selecting her dad from her contacts, chewing on her lip as she waited for him to answer.

"Penny!" She could practically hear him smiling through the phone. "What's up, Slugger?"

Penny grinned. "Hi Daddy. I was wondering if you could help me out a little?"

"What have you done?"

"It's nothing bad," Penny giggled at his tone. "In fact, I think you'll be pretty happy about this."

"Oh," She heard him breathe a sigh of relief. "What is it?"

She paused. "I'm going to propose to Leonard."

On the other side of the line, Wyatt grinned, punching the air. "Congratulations, darling! I told you he's a keeper."

"I know, Daddy." Penny smiled.

"A little unconventional though."

"I know that too, which is why I need your help." She decided to get straight to the point. "I'm looking at rings, and you know I have a sucky job and... well I don't want to get him a cheap ring, I want it to be perfect, you know?"

"You want some money for the ring?"

"Is that okay?" Penny asked shyly. She felt like a child, asking her parents for money again. "I promise I'll pay you back, I just really want to buy the perfect ring."

"That's not a problem sweetheart," Wyatt smiled. "You buy him the perfect ring, and don't you worry about paying me back. I'm proud of my little girl."

"Thank you Dad."

"You still remember all my credit card numbers from when you used to 'borrow' money from me?"

Penny giggled. "The only numbers I've never had trouble remembering."

"Then you go get him that perfect ring, Penny."

"Love you, Daddy."

"Love you too."

Penny hung up, still smiling. She walked confidently back over to the salesman. "Okay, show me what you've got."

He helped her pick out a silver ring, with a small diamond in a rubover setting. Penny thought it was perfect; as soon as she had seen it, she fell in love with it. The small diamond made it special, but the rubover setting in the silver made it masculine and unique. She handed the salesman one of Leonard's rings; he didn't really wear rings, but he had a few from various costumes, and it was the best Penny could do for sizing. As the salesman fetched the ring in Leonard's size, Penny felt proud of herself. Handing over her fathers card details, she made a mental note to thank him properly for all the money that was going on this ring, and for accepting her decision to propose to Leonard.

She carried the small bag holding the boxed ring with pride. As she parked at the apartment complex, she hid the bag in her handbag, in case Leonard was home early today. When she saw that he wasn't she hid it carefully in a shoe box at the back of her closet, stacking a few other boxes on top of it and then placing a pair of pink heels on top so she knew where it was.

She had the ring. She was partway there. And it was far less terrifying than she had thought it would be.


	2. Chapter 2

_"I, Leonard, take you, Penny, to be my lawfully wedded wife,"_

It had been a simple day when she had proposed. Looking back on it, he should have guessed something was up.

At the beginning of the week, she visited his lab. She brought flowers and a picnic basket, so they had lunch together outside in the sun, as he explained what experiment he was working on that day. She stayed for the afternoon, watching him as he worked, amazed at his brilliant mind. Leonard loved having her there, showing an excited Penny how the lasers worked, and letting her assist with some of his work where it wasn't deemed dangerous.

She suggested they go for a fancy meal, which they did. Leonard couldn't help but admire her pretty white dress; it was so simple but so beautiful. He remembered that she had worn flats that evening instead of heels, and had curled her hair. They went to the beach, to the cinema, to the comic book store, to a bar, to all their favorite places that week. Her apartment had become suspiciously clean and tidy, decorated with plenty of flowers and framed photographs of the pair of them dotted around on bookshelves and empty surfaces. Somehow, though he had his suspicions, some of his figurines, clothes and books had ended up finding places in her apartment too.

But in the end, it hadnt been somewhere fancy, but it definitely had come as a surprise. The following week, after a heated debate about what to watch, then laughing at how defensive they got when it came to TV, they agreed on a Game of Thrones marathon. It was between switching discs that Penny had suddenly gotten down on one knee on her way back to the couch. He had been about to ask what she was doing, when she began speaking.

"I know you wanted this to be a surprise, and that you also wanted the whole nine yards. I could have proposed last week during the picnic, our fancy dinner, or any of our other special places. But I love you every day, all the time, and this is where you asked me out the first time, and the second time. You made it special, and now it's my turn to add to that. I want to spend the rest of my life making _your _life special, putting a smile on your face and telling you I love you from my heart. So, if it's not too much to ask, I want you to make me the happiest woman I know." She smiled up at him, taking the ring box out of the pocket of the hoodie she was wearing; the one Leonard had worn just yesterday. "Leonard Hofstadter, will you marry me?"

Leonard grinned, his eyes full of tears. "Yes," He kissed her softly. "Yes, I will marry you."


	3. Chapter 3

_"To have and to hold, from this day forward"_

"Oh God, I swear, this is ridiculous," Penny moaned, leaning over on the hospital bed. "I have been in labor for like, ten hours, isn't it meant to get easier after your first kid?"

"It's okay," Leonard soothed, rubbing her back. "This baby is a little bigger than Izzie."

"Thanks for reminding me," She shot at him. "I'm the one who has to push this baby out, I don't need reminding that it's bigger! You try pushing a giant watermelon out of your-"

"Shh, okay, okay, I'm sorry," He continued rubbing her back, wishing Penny had agreed to take some meds for the pain.

"If you had just refrained from seducing me in your lab then I wouldn't be trying to give birth to a freakin' lion!"

"Hey, you were the one who-"

"I mean seriously Leonard! Do you have no self control?"

"You're the one who _suggested _it and initiated it,"

"I'm so sorry," Penny suddenly burst into noisy tears. "I didn't mean to be horrible to you!"

"That's okay, I know you didn't mean it."

"Stupid hormones." She grumbled. "Sorry. I wanna get back in bed. Will you sit with me?"

"Of course," He gave her a small smile.

Penny turned herself around, and Leonard lowered the bed so she could sit on it comfortably, before repositioning herself to lie down. He heightened the bed again, and raised the front, so that Penny was sitting, before getting in beside her. She grabbed his hand, breathing heavily, gritting her teeth as she glared at the end of the bed.

"Shall we see how you're doing?" Anne, the nurse working with Penny's doctor, walked in with a smile. "You must be almost there!"

"I hope so," Penny breathed, looking up at Anne.

Leonard jumped off the bed, but kept his hand linked with Penny's as she got into position for the nurse. He waited quietly, letting Penny squeeze his hand, as the nurse ran a few comments to reassure Penny. Finally, Anne pulled back and took off her gloves.

"Okay, we're almost ready! I'll get Doctor Cahill, and the delivery team will make sure everything is ready."

"Oh thank God," Penny threw her head back as Anne left the room.

"See, almost there, and we'll have our beautiful baby with us," Leonard gave her a quick kiss, before picking up the damp flannel by the bed and dabbing at her forehead.

The delivery team came in and checked everything was okay, and informed them that the pair of them would stay during the birth in case they were needed, and to assist Doctor Cahill. Penny nodded, and Leonard thanked them. Nurse Anne came in next, followed by Doctor Cahill, who after a quick check confirmed that Penny was ready to start pushing.

Although they had gone through this before, Leonard had forgotten how strong Penny's grip could get. He was pretty sure that he'd have purple bruises on his hand for at least a week, like last time, but he quickly felt guilty about his pain when Penny started screaming as she pushed. He had moved to sit behind her, and whispered soothing words to her while he rubbed her hands gently with his thumbs.

Finally came the words that they had been waiting to hear; "Congratulations!"

Penny threw her head back in relief, a grin taking over her face as Leonard kissed her hand and they heard their baby cry for the first time.

"It's a boy," Doctor Cahill smiled as he passed the baby bundle to Penny, who took him gently.

"He's gorgeous," Penny whispered, looking proudly down at his face. As he opened his eyes and blinked, she giggled. "Leonard look, he has your eyes. And your hair! Oh, he's so perfect."

Grinning, Leonard nodded behind her, just as speechless as he had been the first time.

Penny called Anne over, not taking her eyes of the baby. "Can you bring Izzie in please? I just want to sit here with my family for a while before my friends all come in."


	4. Chapter 4

_"For better or for worse,"_

"I'm back," Leonard called as he walked into the apartment, dumping his bag by the door. "Penny?"

Penny came out of the bedroom, wrapped in her robe, still dressed in her pajamas, her hair still in the same ponytail from the morning. "Hey sweetie," She smiled, taking a bottle of water from the fridge and sitting down on the couch.

"You're still in your pajamas." Leonard pointed out.

"Yeah, I didn't feel too good when I got up this morning." Penny switched on the TV, lowering the volume as she put her feet up on the coffee table.

"I thought you were going to pick your car up from the garage?" He opened the fridge. "And buy some food for dinner?"

"I told you, I didn't feel well." Penny shrugged, sipping on her water.

"So, what, we're having out of date chicken and mouldy cheese for dinner?"

"That's not all there is in the fridge," Penny frowned.

"Shall we go out for dinner?" Leonard suggested. "I'm starving."

"I don't feel like going out."

"What, so you're just going to sit there like you have all day?" He was beginning to get pissed off; she'd had the whole day to rest if she wasn't feeling well, and they'd agreed to have a nice evening together since they hadn't seen each other much over the past couple of weeks. "I thought we were going to spend some time together tonight?"

"It's not my fault our work schedules don't match up. I need the money, I take whatever shifts I get. It's not like I have the money to take time off, like you do. I can't swap all my shifts just because they don't suit you this month. So sue me if I'm feeling sick, Leonard, I just want to relax, okay?"

"I'm not asking you to take time off, I'm asking you to at least make an effort for the time we do get to spend together!"

"I always make an effort! I told you like a million times, I don't feel well today! You wouldn't want to leave the apartment either if you had thrown up all morning, or had a headache and back pain this bad! Can't you just order some take-out or something?"

"We always have take-out Penny, that's why we were going to actually cook something for once. You could've at least texted me and I would have picked something up on my way home."

"I was trying to take a nap, sorry for not thinking about my phone all day." Penny shot at him sarcastically. "Just get some take-out, we can do something another day."

"Which is going to be when, next month?"

"I don't know, I don't have next months schedule, Leonard. Not everyone organizes everything as early as you do."

"Okay, whatever. I'll go to the grocery store and pick up some ready-meals or something."

"You do that." Penny turned the volume up on the TV.

"You want anything specific from there?"

Penny shrugged. "I don't care what we eat. Just get some pain killers or something."

Leonard rolled his eyes as he left. Penny sighed to herself as the door closed, she hated arguing with him. It was always over something stupid and it made her feel terrible. She took another sip of water, trying to drain out the anger. She resolved to apologize when he got back; he had been working all day and she'd just been a bitch to him. He was right, the least she could have done was text him to pick up a few things on the way back if she was too unwell to go herself.

It was almost an hour later that Leonard returned, laden with grocery bags. He looked much calmer that he had when he left, for which Penny felt relieved.

"I'm sorry for being such a bitch earlier," Penny said as soon as he had shut the door. "I don't want to be one of those women who nags her husband all the time. I'm sorry."

"That's okay," Leonard said, as he placed the bags down on the island counter in the kitchen, coming to sit next to her. "I'm sorry for getting mad at you, it was stupid."

"It's always stupid," Penny smiled. "Though I guess that's better than it being over something serious. How come you have so many bags?"

"Thought I'd stock up, since you're not feeling well." Leonard said, getting back up and unpacking the bags.

"Good idea," Penny smiled. "Thanks, Leonard."

"No problem. I got us Italian ready-meals, we just need to heat them up." He took them out and placed them on the counter, and continued putting the rest of the items away. When he was left with the last bag, he took it and sat back down next to Penny. "I went to the pharmacy and told the woman the symptoms which you told me so they could get what's best."

"Thanks sweetie," Penny smiled.

"So I have these pain killers, this stuff for the back pain, and these should help with the sickness." He placed them on the coffee table. "Now there was one more thing the woman suggested, and please don't get mad at me."

"What?" Penny asked warily.

"She said... well, she said your symptoms are similar to those of pregnancy." He paused as Penny glared at him. "So I bought you a pregnancy test. Please don't kill me."

"What? Leonard, for Gods sake, I'm not pregnant, I'm just sick!"

"I didn't say you were, but the pharmacy women suggested it, just in case. Let's not argue about this, okay?"

"Fine, I'll take the stupid test." She took the box out of the bag and walked off to the bathroom.

Leonard was glad she had agreed to take it. He hadn't thought about her symptoms being that way, but now they did make sense to him. Even if she wasn't pregnant, that was fine, but he wanted to be sure. If she was, well... well there was no need to consider that yet anyway.

Penny came back a few minutes later, holding the stick upside down. She sat down and placed it on the coffee table in front of them.

"Have to wait five minutes," She explained, checking the time on her phone.

"You're on the pill, right?" Leonard wondered out loud.

"Yeah," Penny nodded. "Though I've forgotten to take it more than a few times." She bit her lip. "And we're not exactly cautious about remembering to use protection. Oh God, maybe it was a good idea you got this, I hadn't even thought about it."

"It's okay, you could just have a fever or something, I don't know."

"Maybe." Penny looked at Leonard. "Would it really be so bad if it was... you know... positive?"

Leonard looked at her, smiling. "Maybe it wouldn't."

Penny reached out her hand, and Leonard held it gently. Though neither dared to admit it, both secretly hoped that it was positive. Penny used her free hand to check the time on her phone, beginning to get impatient, clicking the lock button every few seconds.

"There, it's been five minutes!" She announced, excited and nervous in equal measures. She turned to Leonard, her eyes wide. "This is it. Oh God, this is it..."

"It's okay, whatever happens, happens." He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

Penny raised her brows at him. "You want it to be what I want it to be, right?"

Leonard hoped so. "Yes," He said, guessing what she wanted was the same as what he wanted.

"Shall we both look on three?" She asked, and he nodded. She put her hand on the stick. "One... two... three." She quickly flipped the stick over, squealing, and squeezed her eyes shut. "I can't look at it Leonard! What does it say?"

Leonard had squeezed his eyes shut too. "I don't know, I closed my eyes too!" He couldn't help but laugh.

Penny giggled. "Okay, we open them on three. No cheating."

"Okay, deal." He took a deep breath.

"Ready? One... two... three... open!"

Their eyes shot open, looking down at the stick. Penny's jaw dropped, and Leonard could have sworn that the earth stopped spinning just for a second.

"Positive," Penny got out. She looked at Leonard, and grinned. "Leonard, it says positive!" She hit his arm excitedly. "It says _positive_! We're having a baby!"

Leonard was grinning from ear to ear. Not only was Penny pregnant, but she was happy about it - no, she was ecstatic. "Oh my God!" He pulled her in for a tight hug, unable to wipe the grin off his face. "I can't believe it! This is fantastic!"

"I know!" Penny let go of him, happy tears in her eyes. "You wanted it to say positive too, right?" She double-checked. Leonard nodded, and at that she kissed him, realizing there were no words to describe how much love and happiness she felt at that moment. Perhaps a few years ago, this would have been the worst thing that could happen. But now, it was the best news she'd received in a long time, and the best moment she'd shared with Leonard since saying "I do."


	5. Chapter 5

_"For richer, for poorer,"_

Lighting what felt like the millionth candle, Penny sighed and set down the box of matches, looking around. That would have to do for now. She went to get another blanket and wrapped herself up on the sofa, grabbing her cell phone. She played Solitaire for almost an hour, trying to win more than two games in a row.

"Hey," Leonard said, walking into her apartment, dropping his keys onto the bowl he'd placed by the door a few weeks ago. "What's with all the candles and blankets?"

Penny looked up and shrugged. "I forgot to pay my bill on time."

"Oh," He came over and sat down next to her. "We can go over to my place?"

"I already tried, Sheldon lectured me on how I deserve this for not paying bills on time, and I can't keep relying on you guys to eat and stay warm, and all that crap," She rolled her eyes, and then draped one of her blankets over Leonard.

"We could order pizza and I'll get my snuggie you got me for extra warmth?" Leonard suggested.

"Sounds good," Penny smiled. "I'm starving."

She re-adjusted herself as Leonard ordered pizza, contemplating asking Leonard to bring his comforter over for the added warmth.

"Okay," Leonard said, putting his phone down on the coffee table. "Pizza's ordered. I'll go get the snuggie and another hoodie and I'll be right back."

"Can you make some tea as well?" Penny asked, batting her eyelashes.

"Sure," He smiled.

While he was gone, Penny got up and tried to arrange the blankets and her comforter so they could both cover up comfortably and stay warm. She walked around, trying to warm her body up until Leonard returned, then got her laptop and put it on the coffee table with a stack of movies. She'd acquired a few of Leonard's DVDs from when they'd watched them together at hers, so they had plenty of choice, so long as her battery didn't die out.

Leonard soon returned, wearing a warmer hoodie and carrying his snuggie and an extra hoodie in his hands. "I brought one for you, if you wanted another one."

Penny grinned and put it on, zipping it to the top. "Mmm, smells like you."

They settled onto the couch, each putting an arm through the snuggie, cuddling up under the blankets.

"We should have set a movie up on my laptop before getting comfy," Penny observed.

"We can do that when one of us has to get up to get the pizza," Leonard smiled, holding her hand under the blanket. "God, it really is freezing in here. When are they putting your power back?"

Penny shrugged, looking away from Leonard. "Probably when I actually pay for it."

"I thought you just forgot to pay on time?"

"I lied," Penny frowned, sighing. "I just... didn't. I haven't got enough money to pay for it."

"You want me to take care of it? You're going to turn into an ice cube otherwise."

"No, I can't let you pay my bills. You have your own to pay."

"It's fine, Penny, it's hardly going to make a dent in my bank account-"

"You don't need to rub in the fact that you have money and I don't!"

"No, look, that's not what I'm doing. I share bills with Sheldon anyway, you pay the whole thing yourself, so I pay way less. Besides, I spend a lot of time here, so I might as well pay for some of it to make it fair."

"Oh, whatever, fine... but I'll pay you back as soon as I can." Penny looked at him. "Will you pay for my pizza too?"

"Of course," He said, wrapping an arm around her.

"We may have to use your shower too, unless you want to experience swimming in the Arctic naked," Penny added on apologetically.

"That's okay too."

"Ugh, I hate being broke. I haven't been shopping in like, two weeks. Which sucks, because there's this really pretty dress I want in the sale, and I'm not paid until the end of the month. Being poor sucks." She rested her head on Leonard's shoulder.

"Well, I need to get some bits from the mall anyway, if you come with me for boring guy stuff then maybe I'll buy you it as a present." Leonard smiled.

"Really?" Penny looked up at him, grinning like an excited child. He nodded. "You're the best, I love you! I promise, I'll go with you to get your boring guy stuff. I'll even watch any of your films with you. Oh, and, since you're paying bills and stuff, you are welcome to stay here as much as you want. Maybe even... I dunno..." She smiled at him shyly. "Maybe even move in with me?"

Leonard grinned. "So you can half your bill?"

Now serious, Penny shook her head. "So you're the first person I see when I wake up, and the last person I see before I go to sleep, and the person who's snuggie I use for warmth while they're not home from work yet."


	6. Chapter 6

_"In sickness and in health,"_

"Leonard's sick. I need a ride to work."

Penny seriously considered hitting Sheldon over the head with her Slugger. It was 6.30am, and she was supposed to be having a lie-in.

"It is six thirty in the morning, Sheldon! Six thirty!" She repeated for emphasis. "Why did you think this was a good time to wake me up? Do you really think making me angry is going to make me want to give you a lift to work?"

Sheldon frowned. "I did not think of that. My apologies. Shall I come back at a later time?"

Penny rubbed her temples. "Fine, whatever." She yawned. "Did you say Leonard is sick? Is he awake?"

Sheldon nodded. "Yes, he's been awake all night."

Penny sighed. "I'm going to see Leonard."

She followed Sheldon to his apartment, shutting her apartment door behind her. Sheldon headed over to the kitchen as Penny walked over to Leonard's room, and gently knocked on his door before coming in.

"Leonard, sweetie, are you awake?" She whispered, stepping closer to his bed. His eyes opened and he smiled. "Oh, I'm so sorry, did I wake you?"

Leonard shook his head. "No, I can't sleep anyway, it's okay."

Penny walked round the bed and got in on the other side, snuggling up to him. "Sheldon said you were sick."

"I just have a fever, and I threw up a few times," Leonard shrugged. Penny noticed he sounded a bit stuffy. "And my head hurts too."

"Aww, my poor baby," Penny frowned and kissed his forehead. "I have to take Sheldon to work, but after that I'll be right back. Actually, I'll pop to the store and get some soup and stuff for you, on my way back."

Leonard smiled at her. "I thought you were having a lie in this morning?"

"You're sick, I can lie in another time. Or I can sleep here until it's time to take Sheldon."

"Hmm, maybe I'll fall asleep with you here," Leonard said, settling down and closing his eyes.

An hour and a half later, Penny awoke to a gentle tapping on her arm. She opened her eyes to see Sheldon, who quickly pulled his arm away.

"Go wait in the hall, I'll be right with you," Penny whispered. She looked over at Leonard, who had actually fallen asleep, and smiled. She gave him a quick kiss on the forehead before getting out of bed.

She decided she couldn't be bothered to go back to her own apartment to change, so she pulled on a pair of Leonard's jeans and one of his hoodies. She giggled quietly as she looked at herself in the mirror. She slipped her flip-flops back on, and walked out of his room quietly.

"What on earth are you wearing?" Sheldon asked, standing by the door.

"Shut up," Penny shot at him. She grabbed Leonard's car keys from the bowl and led the way downstairs and into his car.

"Hey, give me fifty bucks," Penny said, as she parked at the University.

"Why?" Sheldon exclaimed.

"For waking me up early. Also because I'm going to the store to get some stuff for Leonard and I was too lazy to go back to my own apartment. Oh and Amy borrowed twenty from me the other day to buy you those comic books."

"Fine," Sheldon sighed, taking out his wallet and passing Penny five tens. "Thank you Penny," He said, obligingly, as he got out of the car.

Penny grinned and tucked the money into one of the pockets of Leonard's jeans - she had to admit, they were very comfortable and far more practical than her skinny jeans - before driving away to the store. She ignored the funny looks she got regarding her attire as she whizzed through the aisles.

Arriving back, she saw that Leonard was sat on the sofa, wrapped up in his comforter. He grinned when he saw that she was wearing his clothes, and Penny put the grocery bags on the island counter before sitting down next to him.

"I couldn't be bothered to get changed in my apartment," she explained with a smile. "You wanna pick something to watch?"

He sneezed before answering. "You actually want to watch something I pick out?"

"You're sick, you get to pick." Penny got up and started emptying the grocery bags. "Okay, I bought tissues, some Cold & Flu remedies, a fruit salad, chocolate... toothpaste because I ran out last night... oh, some noodles, and lactose free milk. If you want warm milk or whatever. I didn't know if you had any or if there was enough."

"Mm, warm milk sounds good. So do the tissues," Leonard sniffed. "What's in the other bag?"

Penny grinned, bringing it over to him. "I got a few magazines I thought you might like - not comics, just magazines from the store, that I thought you might enjoy."

"Vogue?" Leonard scrunched his face, pulling it out of the bag.

"Oh, that's mine." Penny took it from him and set it aside on his desk. "But the rest are all for you."

They spent the day watching daytime TV, flicking through the magazines and taking short naps on the couch. Penny made them chicken noodle soup, and then shared the fruit salad with Leonard. She checked his temperature every hour, worrying that it would go up and he'd start to feel worse. When Sheldon got home he went straight to his bedroom, covering his face with his t-shirt to 'avoid breathing in Leonard's sick germs' - so Penny brought his dinner through to his bedroom, before sitting down to eat dinner with Leonard. Half-way through watching a movie on the Syfy channel, Leonard fell asleep again, so Penny shut off the TV and tidied up quietly. He awoke an hour later, as Penny was putting away the dishes she'd just washed.

"You're cleaning?"

Penny nodded, putting away the last plate and returning back to the couch. "Yup, since Doctor Whack-a-Doodle is refusing to leave his room, and you're sick, I thought I'd do a bit of cleaning. You wanna go to bed?"

"I just had a nap," Leonard pointed out.

"But it's more comfortable, and you still look ill and tired." She stood up, pointing to the hall leading to the bedrooms. "Bed rest, Mister."

Sighing, Leonard got up, taking the box of tissues with him. He followed Penny to his bedroom, where she tucked him up in bed before getting in next to him.

"I thought you were going out with the girls tonight?" Leonard asked, remembering that she had been looking forward to having a night out.

"I text them and took a rain check." Penny shrugged. "I couldn't leave you here alone when you're sick!"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N - So okay I evidently wrote this after watching the season finale of Grey's Anatomy and that was just emotional so this is really based off of that. I guess I should say spoilers for Greys Anatomy in case you haven't seen it but intend to. So yeah, this random ending is inspired by the trauma of GA! It's been fun sharing these :) I'm back home now, so I'll be getting back to HK today - day off, woo! Let me know what you think, hope you've enjoyed reading these. I've loved all your comments, thank you all, reviews for this would just be lovely :) **

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_"Until death do us part."_

"What's wrong?" Leonard instantly rushed over to the couch, where Penny was sat crying, dropping his bag and keys to the floor.

"Promise me you'll never cheat on me, or leave out things about your past, or let me go crazy, or get cancer, or die, or-or-or-" Penny gasped for a breath through her sobs.

"Penny, _what are you talking about_?"

"Promise me! Please!"

"You _know _I'll never leave you, ever. I promise." He took her hand in his, using his other to wipe away her tears. "But... what brought this on?"

Penny pointed with a shaky hand to the TV, which she had paused. "I was watching Grey's Anatomy, it's so emotional. Addison cheated on Derek and Derek cheated on Addison and Meredith loves Derek, and he doesn't even tell her that he's still married! Then Izzie falls in love with Denny, and she goes to crazy measures to get him a new heart, and he _dies_! He didn't even get to see her in the dress! And then Alex falls in love with Izzie, and she gets cancer! Meredith and Derek give them their wedding and she looks so beautiful in that white dress and in the end, Izzie leaves. And people just die or go crazy and... and then Callie gets pregnant and Arizona asks her to marry her and they get hit by a truck, and Meredith is trying to get pregnant but she can't! And then season eight finishes, and Mark and Lexie realize they want to spend their lives together and they die, and now look what happened, Arizona lost her leg, Callie had to chop her leg off - she had to _amputate _her wife's leg! - and then she cheated on Callie with that stupid Lauren Boswell surgeon and Richard died and..." She took a deep breath, steadying herself as Leonard watched her. "Just... promise me, you'll never, ever leave me. Don't cheat on me, don't leave me, don't die."

"I'm _not _got to cheat on you, or leave you, or die. Well I will die eventually but-" He stopped, he didn't need to elaborate. "I love you, I promise you I will never leave you, or hurt you, or... or chop off your leg, okay? Okay? I _told _you not to watch Grey's Anatomy by yourself, you were bad enough watching it with me." Leonard chuckled, placing his right hand on her cheek. "I'm never going to leave you. You're my person."

Penny grinned. "You're my person too."

"I want to settle down and grow old with you. I want to die when I'm 110 years old, in your arms. I want a lifetime."

Smiling, Penny raised a brow, eyes still glazed slightly with tears. "Did you just quote Derek Shepherd?"

Leonard shrugged. "You got me to watch with you, I liked that line."

"You're so cheesy. But I love it." Penny giggled, before biting your lip. "And you really mean it?"

"Yes. I won't let any of that stuff ever happen to you. Like I said, I want a lifetime. We're married. I thought it was implied in the vows. You're mine, and I'm yours, forever. No matter what the television tells you."

"Promise?"

"Promise." He smiled at her, before giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Forever?" She squeezed his hand, running a thumb over his wedding band.

"Forever."


End file.
